Ramón Mendoza, 44, of San Antonio, faces charges of engaging in organized criminal activity and theft.

Ramón Mendoza, 44, of San Antonio, faces charges of engaging in organized criminal activity and theft.

Photo: Courtesy

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Click through the following gallery to see Zetas cartel members captured through the years.

Click through the following gallery to see Zetas cartel members captured through the years.

Photo: LMTonline

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Sigifredo Nájera Talamantes, known as “El Canicón”, reportedly ordered an attack on a U.S. consulate office.

Sigifredo Nájera Talamantes, known as “El Canicón”, reportedly ordered an attack on a U.S. consulate office.

Photo: Elblogdelnarco.com

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Alleged drug traffickers of the gang Los Zetas, Hector Raul Luna, aka "el tori" (L) and David Eduardo Fuentes, aka "el chile", are presented to the press in Mexico City with an assortment of seized weapons, on June 10, 2010. Luna is accused of attacking the headquarters of the U.S. consulate in the city of Saltillo last October 12, 2010. less

Alleged drug traffickers of the gang Los Zetas, Hector Raul Luna, aka "el tori" (L) and David Eduardo Fuentes, aka "el chile", are presented to the press in Mexico City with an assortment of seized weapons, on ... more

Members of the National Civil Police and the Guatemalan Army escort Mexican nationals Salvador Arguelles Briones (a.k.a. Manchas) (C) and Jose Antonio Guzman Gomez (back) upon their arrival to a Guatemalan Air Force base in Guatemala City on June 5, 2011. less

Members of the National Civil Police and the Guatemalan Army escort Mexican nationals Salvador Arguelles Briones (a.k.a. Manchas) (C) and Jose Antonio Guzman Gomez (back) upon their arrival to a Guatemalan Air ... more

Photo: JOHAN ORDONEZ, AFP/Getty Images

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The member of Los Zetas drug cartel Edgar Huerta Montiel, aka "El Wache", is presented to the press by the Mexican Federal Police.

The member of Los Zetas drug cartel Edgar Huerta Montiel, aka "El Wache", is presented to the press by the Mexican Federal Police.

Photo: YURI CORTEZ, AFP/Getty Images

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Alleged member of Los Zetas drug cartel Abraham Barrios Caporal, aka "El Erasmo", is presented to the press in Mexico City, on June 30, 2011.

Alleged member of Los Zetas drug cartel Abraham Barrios Caporal, aka "El Erasmo", is presented to the press in Mexico City, on June 30, 2011.

Mexican Army soldiers escort Valdemar Quintanilla Soriano, aka 'Adal', financial operator of Los Zetas drug cartel, during a presentation to the media, at the Attorney General's headquarters in Mexico City, on August 3, 2011. less

Mexican Army soldiers escort Valdemar Quintanilla Soriano, aka 'Adal', financial operator of Los Zetas drug cartel, during a presentation to the media, at the Attorney General's headquarters in Mexico City, on ... more

Photo: ALFREDO ESTRELLA, AFP/Getty Images

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Mexican Army soldiers escort Carlos Oliva Castillo, aka "La Rana", alleged member of "Los Zetas" drug cartel, during his presentation to the press at the National Defence Secretaryship headquarters in Mexico City, on October 13, 2011. less

Mexican Army soldiers escort Carlos Oliva Castillo, aka "La Rana", alleged member of "Los Zetas" drug cartel, during his presentation to the press at the National Defence Secretaryship headquarters in Mexico ... more

Jaime Gonzalez Duran, a.k.a. "Hummer" (C), founder of a group of hitmen called the "Los Zetas" in 2008. Gonzalez worked for drug trafficker Osiel Cardenas Guillen, a.k.a. "El Mata Amigos" (The Friends' Killer).

Jaime Gonzalez Duran, a.k.a. "Hummer" (C), founder of a group of hitmen called the "Los Zetas" in 2008. Gonzalez worked for drug trafficker Osiel Cardenas Guillen, a.k.a. "El Mata Amigos" (The Friends' Killer).

Photo: ALFREDO ESTRELLA, AFP/Getty Images

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Anti-narcotics police stand guard in Guatemala City over explosives and arms which were being used by members of the Mexican armed group called Los Zetas to train new recruits.

Anti-narcotics police stand guard in Guatemala City over explosives and arms which were being used by members of the Mexican armed group called Los Zetas to train new recruits.

Photo: AFP, AFP/Getty Images

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German Torres Jimenez (C), aka "Z-25", and other alleged members of the drug cartel "Los Zetas" are presented to the press at the Command Centre in Mexico City on April 25, 2009.

German Torres Jimenez (C), aka "Z-25", and other alleged members of the drug cartel "Los Zetas" are presented to the press at the Command Centre in Mexico City on April 25, 2009.

Photo: ALFREDO ESTRELLA, AFP/Getty Images

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Alleged drug traffickers Christopher Fuentes Letelier (R), is presented to the press in Mexico City, on September 9, 2009.

Alleged drug traffickers Christopher Fuentes Letelier (R), is presented to the press in Mexico City, on September 9, 2009.

Photo: ALFREDO ESTRELLA, AFP/Getty Images

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Four alleged members of the group "Los Zetas".

Four alleged members of the group "Los Zetas".

Photo: STR, AFP/Getty Images

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Alleged members of the "Los Zetas" presented at a press conference in Mexico City on December 4, 2009.

Alleged members of the "Los Zetas" presented at a press conference in Mexico City on December 4, 2009.

Photo: STR, AFP/Getty Images

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Alleged members of the "Los Zetas" in 2009, following their arrest in Juarez, Nuevo Leon State, Mexico. Ten suspected drug traffickers and a female passerby were killed in a shootout with police in northern Monterrey. less

Alleged members of the "Los Zetas" in 2009, following their arrest in Juarez, Nuevo Leon State, Mexico. Ten suspected drug traffickers and a female passerby were killed in a shootout with police in northern ... more

Photo: STR, AFP/Getty Images

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Alleged members of the Zetas drug cartel are shown to the press in Villahermosa, Mexico, on December 23, 2009.

Alleged members of the Zetas drug cartel are shown to the press in Villahermosa, Mexico, on December 23, 2009.

Photo: AFP, AFP/Getty Images

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Here at the 13 things you need to know about one of Mexico's deadliest cartels, Los Zetas.

Here at the 13 things you need to know about one of Mexico's deadliest cartels, Los Zetas.

Photo: -, Courtesy

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1. Los Zetas are ex-military

The foundation of what the United States has called “the most technologically advanced, sophisticated and dangerous cartel operating in Mexico,” goes back to the Matamoros and Tamulipas-based Gulf Cartel. The group is comprised largely of former elite Mexican military and initially began as hit men for the Gulf Cartel according to CNN.

According to a graphic provided by Stratfor Global Intelligence Agency, the cartel occupies the gulf side of Mexico such as Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, Vera Cruz, Tabasco, Campeche and the Yucatan. less

2. Where do they operate?

According to a graphic provided by Stratfor Global Intelligence Agency, the cartel occupies the gulf side of Mexico such as Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, Vera Cruz, Tabasco, ... more

that cartel leader Omar Trevino Morales was apprehended by Mexican authorities in early March 2015. In 2013, former Zetas cartel leader Miguel Angel Trevino Morales was arrested by Mexican authorities in Tamaulipas, according to Tamaulipas media reports. Just one year before Morales’ arrest, Mexican marines killed former Zetas leader Heriberto Lazcano in a shootout as he left a baseball game, Michael S. Vigil, former chief of international operations for the DEA, said.

According to Michael S. Vigil, former chief of international operations for the DEA, a new leader of Los Zetas has not been identified.

4. Currently without leadership

According to Michael S. Vigil, former chief of international operations for the DEA, a new leader of Los Zetas has not been identified.

Photo: JULIO CESAR AGUILAR

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5. Drug smuggling and sales

Los Zetas partake in the sale and distribution of marijuana, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine, however, Michael S. Vigil, former chief of international operations for the DEA, said their biggest money makers are cocaine and meth.

Michael S. Vigil, former chief of international operations for the DEA writes in his book, Deal, that Los Zetas also participate in extortion, kidnapping and theft of Mexico’s natural resources, human trafficking and money laundering through horse racing.

Michael S. Vigil, former chief of international operations for the DEA , said Los Zetas have been at odds with the Jalisco new Generation Cartel for a decade, calling the cartel their “sworn enemy.” So much that the Jalisco New Generation Cartel also go by “Mata Zetas,” which means “kill zetas” in Spanish.

After reaching its peak in 2011 with the New Generation Cartel’s dumping of bodies in the Boca Del Rio, the conflict between the Jalisco New Generation Cartel in Veracruz has dwindled to dormancy in recent years. Both continue to operate in Veracruz.

While Los Zetas appear to be a stand-alone cartel on the surface, they work with many groups that originated from the Beltran Leyva Cartel, a trunk of the Sinaloa Cartel. After the Beltran Leyva brothers were either arrested, they maintained their alliances with the Beltran Leyva organization Stratfor Global Intelligence Agency’s Mexico security analyst Tristan Reed said. They’ve also worked with with La Linea in East of Ciudad Juarez and the Sierras in Chihuahua State.

Former chief of international operations for the DEA Michael S. Vigil said that because of the poverty in Mexico, it’s not difficult to recruit new members. “Some feel the only way out is to get involved in the drug trade,” Vigil said. “It’s very easy to recruit these young men, their only role models are drug traffickers and they see them riding around with new cars, beauty queens wrapped around their arms and that’s what they aspire to be.”

It was rumored that Los Zetas also went by “Los Legendarios,” but Stratfor Global Intelligence Agency’s Mexico security analyst Tristan Reed said this was perpetuated through intentional misinformation.

According to Stratfor Global Intelligence Agency’s Mexico security analyst Tristan Reed, Los Zetas recently changed up their strategy moving their focus away from high profile displays of violence which sent them further under the radar. Still, Reed said this shouldn’t be confused with power slipping. While the group has suffered substantially from arrests, it is still the most powerful group in Tamaulipas and among the most powerful crime groups in Mexico.

Authorities said they are looking for two men who are allegedly linked to an auto-theft ring that would steal vehicles from south and central Texas and deliver them to the Zetas drug cartel in Mexico.

The Laredo Police Department's auto-theft task force and San Antonio PD's vehicle crimes unit said they need the community's assistance to locate Ramon "Mon" Mendoza Jr., 44, of San Antonio, and Jorge "Pelon" Lopez, 39, of Natalia, which is located south of San Antonio off Interstate 35.

Each suspect has been involved in numerous cases of motor vehicle thefts and the transportation of stolen motor vehicles into Mexico, LPD said. They face charges of engaging in organized criminal activity and theft.

"(The) suspects are suspected of being involved in various armed robberies and carjackings. Caution: Suspects are believed to be armed and dangerous," LPD said in a statement.

Anyone with knowledge of their whereabouts is asked to call LPD at 956-795-2800 or the Laredo Crime Stoppers at 727-TIPS (8477).

Lopez and Mendoza are part of the auto-theft ring that authorities said they dismantled during Operation Metal Rain. In March, police announced the arrest of 16 people while six others had active warrants, including Lopez and Mendoza.

On Dec. 14, a grand jury in the 111th District Court indicted Mendoza and Lopez, along with a slew of other defendants.

Lopez and Mendoza worked out of San Antonio, police said. They were tasked with providing stolen vehicles to a group of people labeled "crossers," who would then take the vehicle into Mexico. Mendoza was the mastermind while Lopez worked under him, according to police.

Once in Mexico, the vehicles were used for gun and human smuggling and assassinations. Police said one of the vehicles stolen was used in the slaying of the top prosecutor in Tamaulipas, Mexico, in January.